Growing Up on Jakku
by JediParamedic
Summary: This story begins after Rey has been left on Jakku as a 5 year old girl. It's a story about the hardships she probably had to face along with some triumphs that led to becoming the Rey we all know and love. Will hint at her being force sensitive. (First two chapters are more of a setting the scene type of thing)
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys! This is my first ever fanfiction story. It's based on what I think Rey might have gone through growing up on Jakku. It begins with the scene in the movie where we see a 5 year old Rey yelling to a ship to come back.

I will try to update this story regularly but it's hard to say since I work full time and am in college fulltime (ugh!).

Hope you all enjoy it!

DESCLAIMER: I don't own any of the character names and this is only an idea I have in my head of how things could have gone.

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"No! Come back!" screamed a 5 year old Rey, as she watched them leave in the ship.

Terrified and not understanding why she was left on this desert planet, Rey began hysterically crying and screaming for them to return to her.

"Quiet Girl!" barked the man she was left with, as he tightened his grip on her little arm causing her to flinch in pain. He then began to drag her back forcing her to walk along with him.

"Who are you? Why did they leave me? When will they be back?!" sobbed Rey.

"My name is Unkar Plutt" said the large being dragging her along, "I'm the largest spare part dealer on Jakku and you have been left in my care in exchange for a nice amount of money they gave me to watch over you for some time". "So trusting and naïve" mumbled Unkar with a smirk on his face.

"I don't want to go with you! I want to go with my family!" cried Rey

"I didn't ask you what you wanted now did I?! You're stuck here whether you like it or not" said Unkar "And you better do as you're told too. No one else will care for you here so you better not cause any problems for me and you better be worth my time. If not, I'll drop you off in the middle of this desert and let you die there for all I care. Do you understand?!"

Rey nodded and continued to cry. Her tears seemed to evaporate almost as fast as they were streaming down her face.

Once in front of his speeder, Unkar grabbed the little girl and put her in the passenger seat. He then got in himself and began driving towards the trading outpost.

When they got to Nima outpost Rey was no longer crying hysterically but was still sobbing and sniffling. Her eyes were red and her cheeks streaked with tear tracks running down them.

They went inside an enclosed stand/hut and Unkar put a bag of things down on the table that he had been carrying with him.

"This is my main store" said Unkar "I get a lot of business from passersbys who want replacement ship parts at a low price with no questions asked and no proof of ownership needed".

Rey looked around and saw many parts hanging from the ceiling as well as on multiple shelves throughout the shop. There wasn't much light inside the shop which made it hard for Rey to see everything in detail but at least it was cooler than being in the desert sun.

"I never have time to clean up in here so that's where you can start for now. I want this place swept and scrubbed daily first thing in the morning. When you're done with that you can start cleaning each of the parts that I have in stock. Most of my parts have been in the desert for years and so they need a good cleaning to go for a better price" said Unkar

Unkar then signaled to Rey to move outside and get back into the speeder, which she did. Rey noticed that the sun was setting and there were very few people left at the outpost. Those that were still there seemed to be quickly packing up.

"It gets pretty cold here once the sun goes down and then you have the mawjaws that come out at night looking for food." said Unkar "You better never get caught out in the desert at night unless you want to be one of their meals, although you'd probably only be a snack for them!" chuckled Unkar

Unkar seemed to like the fact that he could scare the little girl. And Rey was scared. There were just so many new things to get use to and she didn't want to get used to it.

They quickly arrived at a nice sized hut. They got off of the speeder and Unkar led Rey towards his home. When he opened the door, Unkar flipped a switch and a few lights came on inside the home. Rey was immediately put off by how dirty it was. The ground had black oil and grease from parts along with dirt. There was garbage lying around and a few spare parts here and there. The smell was pretty bad as well. It made Rey feel nauseated. It smelled like body odor and engine grease combined with who knows what was going bad in the garbage piles.

"As you can see I haven't had time to clean this place properly in quite some time. That will be your job as well. Every day after working at the shop you will sweep and scrub the floors, do the dishes, clean the bathroom, and throw out the trash" said Unkar

Rey just looked around wondering how long it would take her little self to do all of what Unkar was asking.

"What if I can't finish it?" asked Rey

"Then you don't eat and you get 5 thrashings for not managing your time wisely" barked Unkar "Food isn't cheap... You have to earn it one way or another like everyone else and since you're so small this is probably the only thing you can do!"

Rey's eyes started to tear up again. How could everything change so much and so fast she wondered.

"Now I understand this place is pretty dirty right now so since I'm a nice guy I'll give you 2 days to get this place cleaned up for the initial time, but after that it's every day!" said Unkar

Rey nodded her head knowing that even with two evenings it was going to very difficult to do, especially the first time.

Unkar went into the kitchen and pulled out of a cabinet what seemed to be a large bread roll. He then heated up what appeared to be green slices of meat or something on a pan. He sat down and began eating.

Rey's stomach began to growl since she hadn't had any food since that morning and it was already night time. She approached Unkar.

"Can I have some?" she asked

Unkar looked at her and laughed. "What did I just tell you girl? Food isn't cheap, you have to earn it. You haven't worked today so that means no food today" he said with smirk on his face as he continued to eat.

"Oh… OK, I'm sorry" said Rey as she just stared at the ground not knowing what to do about the growling in her stomach.

Unkar finished his food and put his dish on the counter top. He then went into a closet and got out a bed sheet. He placed it in the corner of the room on the ground and then pointed to it. "You can sleep here" he said and walked away.

Rey walked over to the sheet and laid down, hugging her knees up to her chest.

Unkar walked over to the front door and made sure it was locked with a key from the inside. He set an alarm and walked over to a room on the other side of the kitchen. He went into the room and about 2 minutes later all the lights went off.

Rey remained curled up on the ground on top of the sheet. Her stomach still growling. All she could do was cry and hold herself tighter. She began wondering when her family would come back for her. She loved them so much and she knew that they loved her but she couldn't understand why they left her here. Maybe where they were going was too dangerous for little kids, she thought. They must have not known how bad it was here. They couldn't have known. She was sure they would be back though. They promised they'd be back.

Rey continued to cry that night until she slowly drifted off to sleep dreaming about being with her family once again and forgetting about today.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the views and follows! And thanks for the review!**

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Rey was awoken suddenly by a slam of the door and Unkar yelling at her "Get up girl! Time to go to work" as he walked through the kitchen.

Rey got up slowly, her small body ached from lying on the floor. She rubbed her eyes trying to get herself awake; they burned from crying so much the previous day.

"Move it!" yelled Unkar, shoving the small girl towards the front door causing her to trip and fall.

Rey yelped as she slammed into the dirty floor.

Unkar just chuckled "frail human" shaking his head and motioning to Rey to get up.

Rey began sobbing as she stood up and dusted some of the dirt off.

"Stop that crying!" barked Unkar "I'm sick and tired of hearing your crying. If you keep on crying I'll give you something to cry about!"

Rey tried her best to stop and began sniffling in response. She walked to the speeder and got inside as Unkar did the same. They drove to Nima outpost and then walked to Unkar's shop. Unkar unlocked the door and turned on a single light over the work area of the shop. He then opened a closet door and pulled out a broom and a hand scrub brush.

"Here" he said while handing her the broom. "You can start by sweeping the floors, then I want you on your hands and knees scrubbing the grime and dirt loose, after that you can sweep up all the stuff you scrubbed loose. When you're done with the floors you can start scrubbing all the parts in that work area over there" he said and pointed to the work area that had the light turned on over it.

Rey grabbed the broom, barely being able to use it as she was so small. Unkar sat in a seat near the open window waiting for customers.

It took Rey over an hour to sweep up the shop. The entire time she felt her stomach growling from not haven eaten since the previous morning. She then got on her hands and knees and began scrubbing the floors loosening up all the things that had been stuck on that floor for who knows how long. Her knees began to hurt her but she kept going as she didn't want to anger Unkar and she wanted to make sure she ate today.

Rey scrubbed and scrubbed. Hours pass by before she knew it, her knees bruised and aching. It was midafternoon when she finally finished with the floors. Rey was feeling weak and had a huge headache. She felt like she was dying of thirst.

"Can I have some water please?" she asked Unkar

Unkar looked at the girl and noticed that she appeared as if she was going to pass out. He thought to himself and came to the conclusion that it was to his benefit to give the human girl some water so that she could continue to work.

"Fine" he sighed and handed her a bottle of water.

Rey grabbed the bottle with both of her little hands and drank the entire thing instantly. She immediately felt relief as the water went down her throat. Goosebumps formed on her skin as her body took in the water she so desperately needed.

"Now get back to work, we only have a couple of hours left and you haven't even started on any of the parts that need cleaning. I should have known a human girl wouldn't be able to carry her weight around here. Pathetic, scrawny, little thing" he said while shaking his head and turning back around in his chair.

Rey sat in the chair in front of the work area but she was not tall enough to see over the table properly and be able to work on the parts. She grabbed some old books that was in the corner of the room on the floor and placed them on the chair. She then climbed on top of the chair and sat on top of the books. She began scrubbing the parts one at a time.

Unkar turned around and notice what the girl had done in order to work. 'Hmm, smart girl' he thought to himself then turned back around to tend to the upcoming customers.

Rey worked and watched as people came and went. Some bought parts but at the end of the day she noticed that more and more people came with parts to sell. She watched as many were given small packets of food instead of money as payment for the parts. Unkar had a large amount of these food packets stashed in a safe that came up from underground. The safe would come up out of the ground and open when Unkar placed his hand on a sensor. Rey figured it must be some sort of hand print recognition key pad.

A couple of hours later Rey noticed the sun starting to go down. Unkar got up off the chair and walked over to Rey. He looked at the small pile of parts she had scrubbed, maybe 3 or 4 of them.

"You better learn to work faster girl, and learn it fast if you want to survive here" said Unkar. He then motioned to Rey to get up and go to the speeder, which she did without question.

When Rey got into the speeder she almost immediately fell asleep. Unkar got in and rolled his eyes and shook his head at seeing the young girl fast asleep in the passenger seat. 'She acts as if she did so much today' he thought to himself, disappointed with how little the girl could do. He turned on the speeder and began driving back to his home as the sun began to set on the horizon.

"Get out girl, you still have chores to do" said Unkar as he parked his speeder next to his home.

Rey got up and followed him inside the house. Once inside, Unkar pointed to the broom in the corner of the kitchen. "Get to sweeping" he ordered.

Rey grabbed the broom and did what he asked. She ended up collecting about 4 bags of garbage and dirt. It took her about 2 hours to do.

"Alright girl, time to eat… although you really haven't worked that much today, definitely not enough for a full portion" he said. "But I don't want you passing out on me either…then what use will you be to me?"

Rey watched as Unkar began heating up the food. Her mouth watered with anticipation. Her stomach growled with emptiness and desire for any sustenance.

Unkar brought over a plate of the green meat stuff she had seen him eat before and two rolls of what looked like bread, one clearly twice the size of the other. He placed the smaller roll and one small piece of the green stuff on her plate, taking the rest (about 7 larger pieces) for himself. He also gave her a cup of water to go along with the meal.

Rey quickly grabbed the green meet thing she was given and took a bite from it. It was one of the worst tasting things she had ever eaten. It was slimy and had a pungent taste that made it hard not to spit out. Rey was so hungry though that she fought back the urge to gag and finished the small piece he had given her. She ate the piece of bread just as fast and to her relief it did not taste as bad as the green pieces. Washing everything down with the cup of water, it took her about 2 minutes to finish her small meal. The meal was definitely not enough to fill the child but at least it had calmed her hunger pains for the moment.

"Now that you're done you can start cleaning the dishes" said Unkar which entailed scrubbing each dish with a brush then blowing them clean with a high powered and high temperature air nozzle.

Rey looked at the pile of dishes on top of the counters and tried to figure out how she would be able to reach them.

"Do you have a step stool I can use?" she asked

"Do I look like I would have or need a step stool around here? You're just going to have to figure it out, and if you have half a brain maybe you will" said Unkar as he continued to eat

Rey felt a bit insulted but she knew not to show it. She had been taught humility and respect for others all of her short life and she was determined to follow that even if others didn't.

Rey looked around and quickly came up with a plan. She grabbed one of the chairs and pushed it over to the kitchen counters. She climbed on top of it and began cleaning the dishes.

"What do you know… you DO have half a brain!" laughed Unkar

Rey paid little attention to the insult and continued to work. 'Maybe if he sees what a hard worker I am, he will like me and be nicer to me' she thought.

She continued working for another hour before Unkar said it was time to go to sleep and that he was going to turn off the lights. Rey had finished about half of the dishes and the place was already looking a bit less cluttered and a bit cleaner all together.

Rey walked over to the spot on the floor with the bed sheet and laid down. The lights went off soon after Unkar walked into his room. Rey was already beginning to feel hungry again but she was too exhausted to care. She curled up with the bed sheet and fell fast asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Warning: this chapter deals with some physical abuse**

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A few weeks passed and Rey began getting more familiar with what was expected from her. Unkar changed the chores/job she had to do after seeing how long certain things took the young girl due to her size and limited strength. He now required Rey to sweep the shop and home every day and scrub them only once a week instead of every day. At the shop she would clean the parts, organize them for better and faster access, and retrieve them when necessary. Unkar would also give her random jobs to do here and there whenever the need came.

He began showing Rey how to complete minor repairs on parts that were otherwise in selling condition. They weren't huge repairs, just changing out cracked bolts or putting in new screws, etc. Although it was hard work for the young girl, she took pride in whatever she helped fix.

Unkar would have Rey bring a few parts/pieces back to his house every evening after work so that she could continue cleaning them or making minor repairs. He figured that since she no longer had to scrub the floors every day, she needed to do something else to earn her meal for the day.

One evening Rey was working, fixing a few parts that Unkar had brought back to his home, when Unkar let her know that it was time to eat and told the girl to grab two cups to pour the water into. Rey excited to get food, got up quickly and ran to the cabinet with the cups. Unfortunately, in her excitement she had forgotten to wipe the grease off of her hands and when she grabbed one of the cups that were made of a ceramic or clay type material it quickly slipped out of her small hand crashing on the floor and breaking into small pieces.

Rey immediately froze, gasped, and stared at Unkar as he heard the noise and came over to see what had happened.

"You stupid girl!" he yelled, at the same time hitting the young girl with the back of his large hand so hard that it sent her straight to the floor. He then grabbed the girl by the shoulder and brought her up, "I'll teach you!" he growled, and hit her again, knocking her to the floor.

Bleeding from her lip, Rey turned over with tears in her eyes and pleaded with Unkar to stop. "I'm sorry! It won't happen again, I promise! Please! It was an accident, I'm so sorry!" she cried while trembling and holding her arm out in an effort to stop Unkar.

"You better believe it won't happen again! After all I've given you! Maybe you need a lesson in appreciation for what you have here because I don't think you understand just how good you have it!" With that, Unkar grabbed the small girl by the arm, dragging her to the front door, and tossed her outside into the sand.

It was near pitch black outside with only the moon and stars to illuminate the surroundings. Rey, crying, got up and dusted herself off. It was very cold compared to the day time. It was probably about 50 degrees Fahrenheit and with the wind it felt almost freezing. Rey instantly felt cold and began rubbing her small arms for whatever warmth she could produce. Turning around, she noticed that Unkar had already turned off the lights inside his home.

Rey began hearing distant sounds and remembered about the indigenous creatures she was warned about that hunted at night for food. She knew she couldn't just stay out in the open not unless she wanted to be eaten or more than likely die of hypothermia. She looked around and the only thing she saw was the speeder that was tethered to a post. Wiping the blood from her lip on her shirt, she quickly made her way to the speeder and got into the passenger side. She looked around in the storage area and found an old empty cloth sack that Unkar most probably used to carry old parts in. Rey grabbed it and sat down on the floor of the passenger side of the speeder. She proceeded to use the sack as type of sleeping bag, as she was able to fit inside while curling her knees up to her chest. The speeder provided shelter from the wind and the sack kept Rey from going into hypothermia although she was still very cold.

Rey was shivering and sobbing wishing that her family would come back and get her. The hope that they would was what helped her get through nights like these. She looked up at the stars "Where are you?" she sobbed, holding on to her knees and slightly rocking herself "Please come back for me soon… I love you". With that, she finally went to sleep there on the floor of the speeder curled up tightly inside of the sack.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the delay in posting the new chapter. Unfortunately I've been really busy with work and class.**

 **Thanks for all the reviews and follows!**

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Rey woke up with a slam of the driver door. Opening her eyes, she looked up and saw Unkar sitting in the driver seat of the speeder as he turned on the engine. She slowly uncurled herself from inside the sack and made her way up onto the passenger side seat. Her eyes stung from crying and her left eye hurt from being hit. She felt cold throughout her body, and looking to the side she saw the sun rising in the east. For the first time she couldn't wait for Jakku's sun to heat up the surroundings.

"I hope you learned to appreciate what you have girl" said Unkar "That cup costs money to get so I will deduct it from your meals. Today you will not be getting any portion of food and then for the next 3 days you will receive half of what you normally get". Rey thought it was excessive and unfair especially after she was hit and left outside but she dare not say anything and wouldn't look at him. The entire drive to Nima she just kept her head down.

When entering the shop, Rey noticed her reflection in one of the hanging metal parts. She had a large bruise surrounding her left eye and dried blood along with a bruise surrounding the right side of her mouth where her lip had split. It frightened the young girl to see herself like this, so she quickly turned away and tried to concentrate on whatever job she had to do that day.

Days past, the bruises slowly faded, and Rey's lip healed. She was determined to be as useful as she possibly could and become a faster worker. Rey continued to watch as scavengers brought in parts and she quickly learned which ones were worth more to Unkar. Although she was young, Rey showed extreme skill and was a quick learner when it came to fixing things and learning how they worked.

One day as Rey was fixing a small part, Unkar looked at her and began thinking to himself. He was tired of having to feed the young girl even if she provided needed repairs to parts. He began to think what the girl could do other than fixing parts in order to earn her meals, meals that he could be using to trade for parts. He was speaking with a scavenger when he suggested something to Unkar. "Why don't you have the girl scavenge for parts? She's so small, she could probably fit into small areas a lot easier than most, that way you'd be paying her for the parts she bring you and not for work that you could have her do later." Unkar liked the idea but knew that Rey didn't know how to scavenge and he was not about to leave his shop to teach her. That's when an idea hit him.

Scavenging was a risky business, not just because you were never certain to find good worthwhile parts to pick out of wreckage but scavenging itself was dangerous. Scavengers, mostly the less experienced and less cautious ones, would be constantly injuring themselves, whether it bruises, cuts, puncture wounds, sprains, strains, dislocations, and even the dreaded bone break. Many scavengers even died doing the work they did. The fear of propelling down into the belly of a wrecked star destroyer and breaking your arm or wrist while you were down there was a constant threat and danger to all scavengers as there would be no way to climb out and they would end up starving to death in that ship.

Knowing this, Unkar's plan seemed perfect. Usually when a scavenger got injured severely enough they would not be able to scavenge as much as usual and sometimes even at all. Rey would be perfect to lend out to those who were injured. The scavengers would take the girl to wrecked sites and instruct her on what to get and how to get it. In return, at the end of the work day she would get a fraction of the lute ration worth.

Unkar soon began to spread the word and it wasn't long before a scavenger came requesting Rey. They made a deal that Rey would get ¼ the amount of total rations earned by the loot since she was still learning. Rey was to be returned 2 hours before sundown so that she could do a few chores at the shop.

Unkar brought Rey to the scavenger by the name of Jador who had recently injured his arm and was supposed to let it rest for a few days.

"She'll do as she's told and if she doesn't then feel free to punish her just don't permanently damage the girl to where she can't work" said Unkar

Jador nodded as Unkar handed him the girl by the arm. Rey was still unsure of what was going on but she was excited that she was going to get to do something new for a change. She got into Jador's speeder and they were off. They would arrive at a wreck site and he'd instruct Rey were to go exactly and what to look for. Rey would yell out what she found and if it was of value Jador would tell her to grab it. It was difficult for Rey to take the pieces off of the wreck. She would use all of her strength to slightly loosen the piece little by little until she'd get the piece off and put it in a pouch Jador lent her to use. There were many times where she just couldn't loosen the part enough to take it and would have to come up empty handed. This irritated Jador but they continued to other wrecks.

By the end of the day they came back to Unkar with 4 pieces that were fit to trade for rations. Unkar studied the pieces and made his offer of 1 portion for the 4 pieces, ¾ portion for Jador and ¼ portion for Rey.

"I would have gotten so much more if the girl would have been strong enough to pull the pieces out" said Jador, frustrated with the small amount of food.

"Yes but you would have had nothing had it not been for the girl" said Unkar.

Jador, realizing that Unkar was right, made plans to pick up Rey in the morning.

Rey was extremely pleased with herself knowing that she earned the food fair and square and that it was hers to eat. Her little face glowed as she made her way inside the shop. Unkar handed her the parts that they had brought in and told her to get to cleaning them, which she did without hesitation. She couldn't believe that she actually found the pieces that she was cleaning.

Every time she went out scavenging with a new scavenger she learned new things about scavenging and the best way to find things. She learned that after a storm is always the best time, as the sand shifts so much that many times new ship wrecks would be revealed.

Rey also liked the fact that she'd get away from Unkar for most of the day. On the other hand none of the scavengers she met were very nice to her. Every now and then one would slap her across the face, push her down, or drag her by the arm to the point that she'd have bruising all over her little arm. When Rey would come back to Unkar with small cuts and bruises to her face and arms, it seemed as if he enjoyed seeing that the girl got punished, as he'd smirk and say "well, I guess we learned another lesson today now didn't we?" and chuckle.

Rey always tried to see the positive in the situation. She'd tell herself that at least she was learning a new skill and she'd think of how proud her parents would be when they saw how good she was at it. She began thinking to herself that maybe she could get good enough at it to where she could scavenge on her own. 'Maybe when I get a little bit bigger' she thought to herself.


	5. Chapter 5

A couple of years pass and Rey, now nearly 8 years old, had become very skilled in scavenging as she was able to pick up stuff from each scavenger she worked with. Although she still had things to learn, she was known around the outpost as a true scavenger at her young age.

While scavenging Rey had come across material, sheets, blankets, etc that she kept for herself after asking permission from whatever scavenger she was partnered with at that particular time. She taught herself the basics of sewing and was able to make her own clothes from these sheets and materials. This became a necessity for Rey as she learned she would outgrow her clothes every few months.

One of the first things Rey made, other than her clothes, was doll. She made it to resemble one of the fighter pilot uniforms she had seen in the wreckage. Finding bones with uniforms around them was an unfortunate norm for the average scavenger. This no longer scared Rey but she still felt bad every time she found them. Rey would image what their lives might have been like, what they might have seen, where they might have flown. She was fascinated by the adventure of it all and at night would at times lie awake daydreaming about it.

Rey began bringing her doll with her when she went scavenging. Since the scavengers would never really talk to the girl other than giving her directions on what to get or pull from a wreckage, Rey would talk to her doll. She named the doll Kesta. "Alright Kesta you keep an eye out for parts worth something, you hear?" she would say as she'd climb into a wreckage. When she'd find something she'd yell with excitement "YES! Kesta we found something!" as she'd give her doll a hug.

Most of the scavengers didn't pay attention to Rey and her doll while others would make fun of the girl and just laugh at her. Rey didn't let it get to her, she had learned that most of them would rather see her quiet and miserable for reasons Rey could only guess was to feel better about their own miserable lives. So she chose to do what made her happy, to look on the bright side of things and one of those things was interacting with her doll.

Through the months Unkar had noticed that the girl had an ability to learn quickly and seemed to be a natural when it came to fixing things. He ended up giving her ship schematics to go over. He showed her schematic of certain engines and taught the girl how to understand them. He wanted Rey to learn them so that she could be used to fix more complex parts and even fix machinery. Rey learned the material quickly and she enjoyed it. She felt proud of herself every time she fixed something even if no one else showed that they were.

Unkar had a few ships that he had acquired that were in need of repair and so instead of working in the shop for a few hours every day, he'd have her work on the ships. Most of what she would do was re-wiring critical systems on the ships as over time the wires had corroded. She'd replace fuses here and there, and replace small parts she knew were missing or were badly damaged. Rey would even take Kesta onto the ships as she worked and would explain to the doll what she was doing and what it was for.

When Rey finished working on one small ship that only needed a few fuses changed, her face glowed with pride and happiness when Unkar turned on the engines to test out the new fuses. Unkar just grunted and said "good". Unkar's lack of enthusiasm didn't faze Rey as she strutted down the loading ramp with Kesta in hand and a huge smile on her face.

The work she did that day in total earned her a ½ portion of food that night which was enough to fill up her belly before going to bed. Satisfied with a good day's work and a big meal, compared to what she would sometimes get, she grabbed Kesta and laid down on her blankets. She quickly fell asleep as the wind began to pick up outside.


	6. Chapter 6

**WARNING: This chapter contains some violence**

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Rey awoke to a thrashing and howling sound against the wall. A sand storm. She liked the fact that after a sand storm new wrecks appeared after the storm uncovered them. She also hated the storms however, because during the storm there was nothing to do but wait indoors without being able to work. This meant that she couldn't earn her meals and Unkar would never give her any food for free. Sometimes sand storms would last a few hours while other times, the ones she hated, would last 1 or even 2 days.

This storm however, wasn't like the others. When Rey awoke, she knew by the sound of it that this one was a large storm. She prepared herself as she knew she would be going without food for probably the day and maybe even the next day. On the second day the storm was howling and thrashing just as hard as when it started. Rey felt her stomach constantly growling especially when Unkar would eat in front of her. She had finished the small portion of water that she had in her carrying bottle by the morning of the second day. By night time of the second day Rey was feeling week and very thirsty and there was no sign that the storm was dying down any time soon. Knowing that Unkar had about to gallons of water left she approached him slowly as he was eating his dinner.

"Unkar, uhm…I ran out of water this morning and I'm really thirsty and well I was wondering if you could lend me a little bit of water till the storm ends… please?" said Rey

Unkar just looked at the girl and began to laugh "Really?! You want me to give you some of the only water I have here? Let me ask you, what happens if this storm lasts a week huh? If I let you have some of my water now there might not be enough for me later." With that, he picked up his glass of water and began to drink it as Rey watched him with sadness in her eyes. Unkar finished her glass of water, looked at Rey and shook his head "No girl I'm not giving you MY water, maybe next time you'll remember to save some water for times like these" he chuckled.

Not knowing what else to do or say Rey walked back over to the corner with her sheet and blankets and curled up inside them. She hoped that the storm would end soon. She had a bottle of water that she left at Unkar's shop but that did little good for her now. She decided the best thing she could do was go to sleep and hopefully when she woke in the morning the storm would be over. It was hard for her to sleep. The noise outside, the pain of the emptiness in her stomach, and the dry mouth and throat kept her awake for longer than she wanted.

Rey woke up in the morning only to hear the sound of the storm still blowing outside. She sat up and immediately felt her headache, it was one that she knew would only get worse the more time she went without water. She laid back down and held Kesta close. "I don't know what to do Kesta. The storm won't stop" she said to her doll as she looked towards the window. Rey didn't have energy to play with her doll and instead tried to keep her mind off of her body's needs by sleeping or daydreaming about the adventures she imagined the pilots of the ships she'd find would have experienced or daydreaming about how happy she will be when her parents returned.

The third day came and went with no sign of the storm dying down. The morning of the fourth day Rey's body felt as if it were failing her. She had gone before without food for a few days but never without water for so long. Her head was pounding with such an intensity she thought it was going to burst. She was dizzy and felt sick to her stomach. Her mouth was dry and lips cracked. She was feeling desperate.

Unkar would stay most of the day in his room sleeping or doing who knows what but would occasionally come out when he needed to use the restroom or when he needed to eat.

It was early afternoon and Rey felt as if she was dying. She was terrified, not knowing how much longer she would survive without water. Just then she began having this nagging feeling within her that told her to go to the kitchen. She couldn't explain it but she knew she had to force herself to walk over there. She slowly got up and fighting the blinding headache and extreme dizziness and weakness she made her way to the kitchen. To her surprise, Unkar had forgotten to lock the cabinet with all of his water. She had promised herself never to be a dishonest person like many there in Nima and she knew stealing was wrong but she was desperate. This was a matter of life and death and she wanted to live.

She opened the cabinet and saw 8 large full bottles of water. Her eyes wide and hands trembling with anticipation. She made a plan in her head. She would drink the one bottle in the back and then replace it with the water she had at Unkar's shop. Unkar would never find out if she did it just right. That way she wouldn't be stealing she'd only be borrowing. She picked up one of the large bottles and began drinking it faster then she even knew was possible. Instant relief went through her body as the water poured down her throat and filled her belly. She stood there drinking the water until the large bottle was near empty and her belly was full of liquid, only stopping due to a sudden sound.

"YOU! HOW DARE YOU!" yelled a furious Unkar as he made his way to the girl.

Rey began to panic and quickly backed up into the corner of the kitchen. "I'm sorry! Please! I was going to replace it! Honest! I was just so thirsty! Please! I'm sorry!" she cried

Right then Unkar back handed Rey hard across the face and she fell to the floor. "You're sorry?! Do you think that makes things better? But trust me you're about to be REALLY sorry in a second!" yelled Unkar as he picked the girl up from the ground by her hair and began dragging her to the main area where Rey's blankets were. He then slapped her hard once more, throwing her onto her sheets.

Rey trembling in fear, turned her head and watched as Unkar went into the closet and grabbed what seemed to be some thick cords. He quickly made his way back to Rey and began thrashing her with the chords.

Rey had never felt pain like that before. The cords felt sharp and were digging into the skin of her back due to the force that Unkar was hitting her with them. She curled up in a ball and cried out in pain, pleading with Unkar to stop and that she was sorry. It didn't seem to phase Unkar, he just continued striking her "I'll teach you to never steal from me again!" he growled. At one point Rey managed to put her arms out in an attempt to stop Unkar but he just stuck her small arms with the cords as well.

Rey thought that it went on forever but in reality it only lasted a few minutes. When Unkar finally stopped he stated "there…maybe next time you'll think before doing something so stupid like that again" and just walked away back into his room.

Rey, still in a ball, continued to tremble and cry in pain and fear of what just occurred. Her body full of long cuts from the thrashings and burning pain due to those cuts. It hurt her even more when she tried to move. She slowly just grabbed the blanket that was to her side and wrapped it around herself. She laid there experiencing the intense pain crying silently as she listened to the storm outside.

That evening Unkar came out to eat his dinner and didn't even acknowledge the grimacing girl in the corner as he ate his meal. Before heading back to his room he looked at Rey and said "You're going to want to take those clothes off before the wounds dry up or else it'll stick to them" then turned away and mumbled "stupid girl" as he shook his head and entered into his room.

Rey, knowing that Unkar was right, began attempting to slowly take her shirt off, and noticed how torn it was in the back and how there were some streaks of blood on it. She had receieved a few strikes to her legs but the wounds were not as bad and so she left the pants on. She wrapped the small shirt in a ball and put it aside before lying down on her stomach on the sheet and covering herself from the waist down with the blanket.

Rey was in a lot of pain but she knew it was temporary and at least she wasn't dying of thirst anymore. She thought to herself that at least she would live another day and give her parents another day to come back for her, then everything would be better.


End file.
